Caitlin John LLC Trims Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Caitlin John LLC reduced its position in Acuity, Inc. by 63.1%, ending the first quarter with $546,000 worth of the stock after selling 3,541 shares.
• Acuity, Inc. reported a 21.7% year-over-year revenue growth in its latest earnings, with an EPS of $5.12, surpassing analysts' estimates of $4.44.
• Analysts remain optimistic, with several raising their price targets on Acuity, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $340.60.

Caitlin John LLC cut its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 63.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,075 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 3,541 shares during the quarter. Caitlin John LLC's holdings in Acuity were worth $546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AYI. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 525.0% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 45.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 250 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 31.7% during the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 320 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.60.

Acuity Trading Down 0.2%

Acuity stock traded down $0.7350 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $325.9550. 126,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,855. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $303.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.64. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $345.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Acuity's payout ratio is presently 5.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.30, for a total transaction of $1,230,487.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,980,115.40. The trade was a 38.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.04, for a total transaction of $1,806,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,628,243.84. The trade was a 24.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.